A game changer in the making

Yesterday, Thursday, July 13, the Parliament of St Vincent and the Grenadines was set to have its first reading of a Bill to amend the country’s laws that will facilitate people of second generation to obtain Vincentian citizenship.

Essentially, the Bill will allow grandchildren of born Vincentians, to become automatic citizens.

As it stands now, the citizenship laws of St Vincent and the Grenadines, only permits citizenship to children of persons born in St Vincent and the Grenadines, irrespective of where in the world they are born.

This column is confident that the Bill, which reports say will be sent to a Select Committee, will have a safe, uninterrupted passage through the stages and will become law.

The matter of second generation citizenship has been around for some time; however, there has not been political will to see it further from a discussion.

Now that there is a decisive move to change the status quo, one can say that St Vincent and the Grenadines is some years behind, but as the saying goes, “ better late than never”.

One may readily question, who really stands to benefit from this move by the country’s parliamentary apparatus?

Unquestionably, the accrued benefits are far reaching and impactful on many sectors.

From a nationality and allegiance standpoint, there are many youngsters and grown people in the Diaspora, who are grandchildren of Vincentians, who yearn to hold a St Vincent and the Grenadines passport.

Critically too, sports will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this new move.

Indeed, the amendment, when passed, will be a game changer as for many years, several capable second generation sportsmen and sportswomen who live elsewhere, have shown interests in representing St Vincent and the Grenadines, but are obstructed by the absence of that favourable citizenship regulation.

Going down the line, the sport of Football especially, can start to count its harvest, as there are many footballers of note, who play in the English system, who are willing to represent St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The new Bill will surely open up the talent pool and undoubtedly provide national football selectors with more options to fill the various national teams.

This is in keeping with the reality that our footballers in general, are not at the standard to be as competitive as they ought to, hence, those who possess that extra grip can surely fill the void.

Additionally, added competition for spots on national teams is more than healthy, as the selection dynamics will change.

Therefore, no longer will home-based players think it will be foregone that their selection is assured.

On the flip side, neither are those coming in from the various countries given easy passage.

We do not have to look far, to see how the likes of Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, and Grenada, to name a few, are making good of their footballers who are spread across the globe.

Hopefully, the various sporting disciplines here in St Vincent and the Grenadines will get the wheels in motion and cash in on the broader human capital that would be at their disposal soonest.

Obviously, this can only be realised if the associations, federations and unions’ policies cater for representation beyond the shores of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Hopefully, there will be buy in when the law is set in motion and the country as a whole becomes better, through investments, sports, and culture, among others.